MARKET REPORT: ITV tops FTSE with shares rising 2.9% on talk it is a takeover target for US media giant Comcast

Millions of families will tune in to ITV for the final episode of Downton Abbey on Christmas Day with Jim Carter, who has played Carson the butler since the show began, warning viewers it will be a real tear-jerker.

That will no doubt be good news for the broadcaster, one of the stand-out blue chip stock market performers of the year.

Shares rose another 2.9 per cent or 7.7p to 271.5p yesterday – taking its gains for 2015 to nearly 30 per cent – on suggestions that it could be a takeover target for US media giant Comcast.

Reports over the weekend said executives from Comcast’s TV and film arm NBCUniversal have met ITV bosses to discuss a possible £11billion bid for the British broadcaster.

Up 2.9%: ITV, the broadcaster behind Downton, has been one of the stand-out blue chip stock market performers of the year

ITV remained tight-lipped yesterday – ‘we do not comment on speculation’ was the line trotted out of its London Television Centre headquarters – but the shares stormed to the top of the FTSE 100 leader board.

Any offer from Comcast would pit it against rival cable firm Liberty Global, which is ITV’s biggest shareholder with a 9.9 per cent stake and is chaired by US billionaire John Malone.

‘ITV is a unique asset and thus any successful bid would have be pitched very high,’ said Peel Hunt analyst Alex DeGroote.

Stock markets across Europe ran out steam after a brisk start as worries about the political situation in Spain and the further slide in the oil price dampened any Christmas cheer.

It is feared that it could take weeks to form a stable government in Spain after an historic election broke the traditional two-party dominance and left no one with a clear mandate to rule.

‘The Spanish election has added to some year-end nervousness among investors,’ said Caroline Vincent, European equities fund manager at Cavendish Asset Management.

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The Ibex closed down 3.6 per cent in Madrid while Frankfurt slid 1 per cent, Milan 0.7 per cent and Paris 1.3 per cent.

The FTSE 100 index closed 17.58 points lower at 6034.84. It is down 5 per cent this month and 8 per cent this year.

The FTSE 250, which has fared better than the blue chip benchmark this year, also dipped 29.01 points to 17,076.86 but remains up 6 per cent in 2015.

There are winners and losers on the High Street every Christmas and analysts at RBC Capital Markets now rate Dixons Carphone as their ‘top pick’ in the sector – knocking Marks & Spencer off its perch.

RBC said ‘growth prospects are strong’ at Dixons Carphone and added that the company gives ‘an unrivalled offering to its customers’.

When it comes to M&S, on the other hand, there are worries about weak clothing sales and subdued demand overseas – not what chief executive Marc Bolland would have wanted to hear.

RBC maintained Dixons Carphone’s target price at 550p but took the axe to M&S, cutting its target price from 700p to 600p.

Dixons Carphone shares rose 6.9p to 484p while M&S was down 3.8p to 447.6p.

Primark owner Associated British Foods also fell, by 91p to 3236p, after RBC reduced its price target from 3700p to 3000p.

It warned that Primark could be hit by ‘a lack of online exposure’ as shoppers shift to the internet.

Shares in miner and commodities trader Glencore floated at 530p a share in 2011 but have been in freefall ever since. The stock is down more than 70 per cent this year alone.

There was better news yesterday, however, after analysts at Citi said Glencore and its boss Ivan Glasenberg will be able to deliver on the promises made during its latest investor day. The broker maintained its ‘buy’ recommendation and 160p price target on the stock, sending the shares up 2.19p to 83.05p.

Shares in Speedy Hire rose more than 3pc, up 1.25p to 39.75p, after its largest shareholder Toscafund took its stake over 18 per cent in what was seen as a vote of confidence in the company.

It has been a difficult year for Rolls-Royce and chief executive Warren East used an interview in the Financial Times to voice ‘disquiet’ about trading conditions in the aerospace group’s diesel engine business.

The unit supplies power systems for the struggling mining and marine industries and is the only division at Rolls not have suffered a downgrade to its forecasts in the five profits warnings the company has issued over the past two years.

East, who took over in the summer, said: ‘If you look at our competitors… there have been some fairly serious downgrades on next year. When I look at that, I do have a feeling of a little bit of disquiet… I’ve got to say, that’s a risk area.’

Rolls shares fell 7p to 569.5p – leaving them down by nearly a third so far this year.

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MARKET REPORT: End of Downton shouldn't mean a downturn at ITV with shares rising 2.9% on talk it is a takeover target for US media giant Comcast